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33 Wikis: #13 -- The Westwood Wiki -- Wikis in the Schools

This is the thirteenth installment in "33 Wikis," a close look at best practices in wiki-based collaboration. Each day -- for 33 days -- we look at one wiki and briefly describe what the wiki is for, why we like it, and what we all can learn from it. If you want to nominate a wiki, please let us know. On day 34 we will post a public wiki featuring info on all nominees.

What this wiki is for: The Westwood Wiki is a collaborative workspace for the Westwood Schools (K-12) in Camilla, Georgia. The gardener and evangelist is computer science teacher Vicki A. Davis, AKA "Cool Cat Teacher." Davis and her students have created a highly interactive, vibrant workspace that supplements several parts of the Westwood curricula.

Why we like it: Wikis are getting lots of interest in the schools because the benefits of peer production and participation are becoming better known. But to really get a wiki going like Westwood has, you need an evangelist with Davis' stamina and character. She's encouraged her students to not only use the wiki, but to immerse themselves in all things Web 2.0. As a result, this is a pretty sophisticated site, with a few unexpected treats (check out the 4th grade podcast -- a bit cute, yes, but still impressive). We also like that Davis has shared so much about her experience. Her notes on the wiki and in her blog will help other teachers navigate their own entry into the world of tech-supported education.

What we all can learn from it: Like all the wikis in this series, the Westwood Wiki has lessons for people in markets outside its own. The way wikis encourage and reward self-directed education should be of interest to any organization that has the mandate of developing its constituents (especially organizations that have been forced to do more with less).

Wikis are becoming more and more popular in our school. Although we may complain about posting/blogging I think it will be able to help us later on in our school career. Actually most of us do not realize how much it is helping us out right now. It gets us involved with other people and their activities so we are not just confined in our small community. Mrs. Vicki has given us the opportunity to share and experience other people and their points of view from all over the world. Wikis and blogging will become more and more popular and will help us all.

Wikis are good because they enable people everywhere to communicate in an efficient, well-developed method. It allows classrooms to expand their horizons and communicate and compare their methods of teaching with other teachers and classes. In addition to teachers, students can harness the power of wikis through study. Study guides can be made on wikipages. Here at are page we have a "study hall" wiki where we post the day's homework.

You'll notice that my students have started posting for an assignment this week. I've asked them to be honest, so who knows what we'll get! Thank you again for the mention. It makes the students feel like they are indeed on the cutting edge.

Doing the wiki has been out of the comfort zone for all of them even though most are comfortable with new technology.

I think wikispace is a good way to collaborate ideas. The feel of working together with other students bonds peers together who are striving for a common goal-making good grades and developing good study habits. It opens the doors for exceptional achievement and a shared atmosphere of learning. We can help each other and strengthen each other's weaknesses. I feel as if the classroom has become more than a dull teacher-talks-the-whole-time-and-everybody's-asleep experience. We are truly learning about the internet and all we can do with it-leaping firsthand into technology that will be useful to us. Wikispaces have been a large part of our virtual learning experience.

Wikis have helped me out so much with computer class. It is a good way to help study or learn things. You get to learn and teach like a group, because we work in groups to work on our wikis for each computer lesson each group teaches. This is also a way to share information with others about a cause or an opinion or etc. Wikis are not well known right now but soon they will be lionized!

I appreciated reading the students' comments. Those are some pretty good reasons for integrating wikis into the classroom. Apparantly, they are also learning to comment effectively. Keep up the good work!